Systems that are secured for use only by authorized individuals frequently rely upon a password or personal identification number (PIN). Examples of systems which utilize PINs include college registration, employee access to information, cellular phones and other communication devices in addition to savings and checking accounts, ATM transactions, telephone calling cards, debit cards, credit cards and numerous other systems.
While some individuals are able to remember random sequences of numbers and letters, most passwords and PINs that are selected by the individual have some personal relevance so that they can be easily remembered; and thereby, vulnerable to unauthorized access. When random words and numbers are used or assigned (often in combination), they are frequently written in a list that is kept handy. The list of passwords and PINs is often difficult to secure, which also facilitates unauthorized access.
Thus, individuals are faced with the dilemma of either having a password or PIN that is easy to remember and consequently facilitates unauthorized access or having a password or PIN that is so difficult to remember that it has to be written down, also facilitating unauthorized access. Therefore, there is a need for a system to secure a list of passwords and PINs from unauthorized access, but which are easily accessed.